“I Prefer Face-to-Face”: Comedic Moments in Teaching On-line

Authors

  • Kathryn Roulston University of Georgia
  • Kathleen deMarrais University of Georgia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18432/R2Z03S

Keywords:

Dramatic script, Comedy, Teaching online, Non-traditional qualitative inquiry

Abstract

This script presents comedic moments experienced by professors teaching online. We examine instructor experiences of the “wheel of death,” the “hermeneutic circle of support,” the phenomenon of students taking coursework for purposes of convenience, instructors’ felt needs to always be at others’ service 24/7, and how instructors respond to students’ self-evident questions. In this short scene about learning to teach online, all characters appearing are fictitious. We share this with others because we argue that comedy is an effective way to respond to some of the challenges we have faced in learning to teach online.

Author Biographies

Kathryn Roulston, University of Georgia

Kathryn Roulston is a Professor in the Qualitative Research Program at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia. Her research interests include qualitative interviewing, and analyses of talk-in-interaction. She is author of Reflective interviewing: A guide to theory and practice (2010), and has published articles and chapters on teaching qualitative research and qualitative interviewing.

Kathleen deMarrais, University of Georgia

Kathleen deMarrais is Professor and Department Head in the Department of Lifelong Education, Administration and Policy at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia. Her research interests include philanthropy and education, ethnography, autoethnography, and fictional approaches to qualitative research. Her most recent co-edited book is Teach for America counter narratives: Alumni speak up and speak out (2015).

References

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Published

2017-08-23

How to Cite

Roulston, K., & deMarrais, K. (2017). “I Prefer Face-to-Face”: Comedic Moments in Teaching On-line. Art/Research/International:/A/Transdisciplinary/Journal, 2(2), 87–100. https://doi.org/10.18432/R2Z03S